An experimental analysis is conducted to accelerate the productivity of the humidification dehumidification (HDH) desalination system. In the air heater region of the HDH desalination system, inserts namely (i) twisted tape in short length with tapered form, (ii) cut out conical turbulators integrated with internal fins arranged in convergent and divergent mode and (iii) half perforated circular inserts with an orientation angle of 45, 90, and 180 are tried out respectively with pitch ratio (PR) of 3,4 and 5 to enhance the heat transfer rate in the air heater. Two types of packing materials, such as gunny bag and saw dust, are tested in the humidifier region accommodating the mass transfer rate. Also an attempt has been made to augment the overall heat transfer coefficient in the dehumidifier with spring insert for PR of 3 and 4. An energy and exergy analysis construed the quantity of effective utilization of energy with the modified HDH desalination system. The enhanced system produced 45% increase of productivity compared to conventional system of 0340 kg/h. For the same input power, the modified system enhanced the heat output and productivity equivalent to a power saving of 40% and 13% respectively. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.